Door latching mechanism



March 7, 1939. M GREENBAUM l DOOR LATCHING M ECHANISM Filed Jun'e 11, 1935 2 sheets-sham i INVENTOR lfd/"fm 'frzaz/m/ ATTORNEY A March 7; 1939. M GREENBAUM '2,149,730

lDOOR LATCHNG MECHANI SM FledvJune 1l', 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 PatentedV Mar. 7, 1939 UNITED STAT ES PATENT OFFICE y 2,149,730 DOOR LATGHING MECHANISVM Martin Greenbaum, Newark, N. J.

Application June 11,

3 Claims.

This invention relates, generally, to apparatus for automatically opening swinging doors, and the invention has reference, more particularly, to a novel' door opening mechanism especially adaptedv for opening garage doors and the like.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a novel door opening mechanism which eliminates the common necessity of getting out out of car and manually opening garage doors upon approaching ones garage, the said mechanism serving to automatically open the garage doors upon arrival of. the car to within a suitable distance of the garage.

Another object of the present invention lies in thevv provision of a novel door opening mechanism of the above character which is so constructedand arranged as to provide a depressible member operable, by the passage of the carthereover, to initially cause the unlocking of the doors and thereafter effect the opening of the doors.

Stil1 another object of the present invention is to provide a novel door opening mechanism of the above character'that is of extremely simple and reliable construction, the'same beinginexpensive to manufacture and install, positive in action and eicient and durable in service, the said mechanism providing for the ready closing and secure locking of the doors at bot-h top and 30'; bottom yandv enabling the unlocking and automatic opening of the doors either by the approach of a car or by use of a suitable key.

4Other objects of this invention, not at this time more partciularly enumerated'will be clearly 35' understood from the following detailed description vof the saine. Y

The invention is clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. lis a'view in front elevation of a garage i0- equipped Withthe noveldoor opening mechanism of the present invention, the lgarage doors being shown in their open position;

Fig. -2 -isasectional view taken substantially along line 2-2'of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 -is a somewhat-enlarged view similar to Fig. 2 Vshowing the 'doors in their closed and locked position;

Fig. '4 is yan enlargedfragmentary sectional view taken along line 1 -lof Fig. 1 but with the doors in their closed position;

A51s a' fragmentary sectionaliview taken along'line 5--5of Fig. 4;

Fig 6i-s an enlarged sectional view taken along 55 1ine'-'I-IV of-fFig. 1;

1935, Serial N0. 25,998

Fig. 7 is an enlarged sectional View taken along line 'I- of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8`is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 8-8 of Fig. 3, and

Fig. 9 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 9-9 of Fig. 8.

Similar characters of reference are employed in said views, to indicate corresponding parts.

Referring now to said drawings, the reference numeral I designates a garage having swinging doors 2and 3, the door 2 being provided with an edging strip 4 that serves to overlap the edge portions of. door 3 when the doors are closed, as shown in Fig. 3, whereby this strip il serves to lock door 3 in closed position, provided the door 2 is also locked. The door 2 is adapted to be locked'at both its top and bottom as will now be described.v

A spring actuated lock bolt 5 is attached to the upper inner surface of door 2 and this lock bolt` 5 has the upwardly directed spring pressed bolt or latch bar 6 which is adapted to snap into the usual mortise 6 provided in the upper portion of the door'frame when the door is closed. The bolt or latch bar 6 is adapted to be released by pulling downwardly upon a chain 1, which chain is connected to the upper end portion of a vertically extending strip or latch operating rod 8. The rod 8 is mounted for vertical sliding movement in brackets 9 attached to the inner surface ofi door 2. The lower end portion of rod 8 is provided with a plurality of transverse slots or apertures IG for receiving a projection or pin II projecting forwardlyl from a bolt or latch bar I2 located adjacent the bottom of the door 2 when the door is closed. The edges of the apertures Ill are preferably beveled at I9 to enable the easy entrance of pin II into these apertures.

Latch bar or bolt I2 is vertically movable in a lock casing I3V that is mounted on or set into the floor I4 of the garage. A coil compression spring I5 is disposed between a transverse pin 4I carried by casing I3 and the bottom of bolt I2 and serves to urge this bolt upwardly for cooperating with a transverse latch plate member I6V carried 'by a lock bracket Il, thatris secured to the inner surface of door 2. As especially shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the end portions of latch plate member vI6 project into recesses I8 provided in the bracket I'l and this latch plate member is 50 slidable up and down within the recesses I8. The lower surface of the latch plate member I6 is beveled at 20 so as to enable this lower surface to ride readily over the upper beveled surface 2I ofthe boltJ 2. ,A slot 2,2 isprovidedinthe bracket I1 adjacent the latch plate member I6 to accommodate movementI of bolt I2 into and out of the hollow interior of bracket I1.

A cable 23 has one end thereof connected to the bolt I2 as by means of an eye-stud 24 and this cable extends downwardly and under a roller or pulley 25 turnably mounted on a cross pin 26 provided in the lock casing I3. From the roller 25 the cable 23 extends through piping 2l underlying the garage driveway 31 to the interior of a box or container 28 that is set into a suitable depression provided in the driveway 31 in advance of the garage doors (see especially Figs. 6 and '7). The end of cable 23 within container 28 is connected to a lever 29 that is fulcrumed at 36 adjacent the bottom of this container. A link 3I has its lower end pivotally connected to lever 29 and its upper end pivotally connected to a bracket 32 fixed to the under surface of the hinged cover 33 of container 28. Cover 33 is hinged at 34 to the body of the container 28. Y

A relatively stiff compression spring 35 is contained within the box or container 28 and extends from the bottom of this box to the cover 33 thereof. A positioning stud 36 projects upwardly for a distance from the bottom of box or container 28 within the hollow interior of spring 35 and thereby serves to retain this spring in its substantially vertical position. With spring 35 fully extended, as especially shown in Fig. 6, the top surface of cover 33 preferably projects somewhat above the surface of the driveway 31. Preferably the cover 33 has a depending flange 38 that projects downwardly at the sides of container 28 at all times so as to prevent foreign matter from entering this container. A rubber gasket 39 is illustrated as overlying the peripheral edge portion of cover 33, the said gasket being attached to a fram-e member 4l] that surrounds the container 28. The frame member 48 may be set into or otherwise secured in fixed position with respect to the driveway 31 and container 28. This frame member 48, together with gasket 39, prevents foreign matter such as dirt, water, etc., from entering the sp-ace surrounding or occupied by container 28. The spring 35 is of suicient strength so as to be substantially uneffected by the weight of a person standing upon the cover 33, but when an automobile wheel passes onto this plate the pressure exerted by the wheel is sufficient to depress spring 35 somewhat, thereby causing the unlocking of the doors 2 and 3, as will be further described.

The mechanism for automatically opening the doors when they are unlocked, consists of a weight 42 that is supported by a cable or rope 43 extending upwardly and over a pulley 44 mounted within the garage adjacent the door opening. From the pulley 44 the cable 43 extends transversely and aroundr a pulley 45 that is turnably mounted on the shank 46 of a slide bracket hanger 41. From pulley 45, cable 43 extends rearwardly and is fastened to a pin 48 that is carried by the inner or rear end of a push rod 49. Push rod 49 extends slidably through the slide bracket hanger 41 and has its forward end portion pivotally connected as by a pin 50 to a bracket 5| that is attached to the door 3. The slide bracket hanger 41 has its shank 46 turnably supported in an anchor plate 52 that is attached as by screws to the upper part of the door frame.

A second cable 53 has one end thereof attached as by an eye-screw 54 to the door 3. From the door 3 this cable extends to and around a pulley 55 that is also rotatably mounted on the shank 46 of slide bracket hanger 41. From pulley 55, cable 53 extends transverselyat the top of the door opening to a pulley 56 that is rotatably mounted on the shank 51 of a slide bracket hanger 58 that is similar to slide bracket hanger 41. From pulley 56, cable 53 extends rearwardly and is attached to a pin 59 fixed on the inner or rear end of a second push rod 68, which push rod is slidably mounted in the slide bracket hanger 58 and has its forward end portion pivotally connected as by a pin 62 to a bracket 63 attached to the door 2. Push rods 49 and 68 are shown provided with coil compression springs 64 at their inner or rear end portions, which springs, by engaging slide bracket hangers 41 and 58 upon the completion of the opening movement of the doors, prevents undue jolting or jarring of the doors, which would otherwise result from the stopping of the movement of weight 42 as will further appear.

In use, if it is assumed that the garage doors are open, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and that it is desired to close and lock the doors, it is merely necessary to grasp the handle 65 of door 2 and push this door to closed position. As door 2 commences to close, the push rod 68 is caused to slide rearwardly through the slide bearing provided therefor in the slide bracket hanger 58. As push rod 69 moves rearwardly it pulls upon cable 53 thereby causing this cable to simultane ously effect the closing of door 3. This will be apparent from an inspection of Figs. 2 and 3. Thus, although the user merely moves door 2 to closed position, the door 3 will also close simultaneously.

Just before the doors have reached their completely closed positions, the beveled lower surface 20 of latch plate member I6 willrengage and ride up over the beveled top 2| of bolt I2. While latch plate I6 is riding over the bevel top of bolt I2, this latch plate member moves upwardly within recesses I8 in the bracket I1. As soon as latch plate I6 rides off of bolt I2, this latch plate drops down behind the bolt I2 into the position shown in Fig. 4, thereby locking the bottom of the door, while at the same time the spring pressed bolt 6 at the top of the door engages in the door frame mortise 6', thereby locking the top of the door. Just as the door moves to its completely closed position, the pin or projection II, provided on bolt I2 enters one of the slots I9 provided in the latch operating rod 8, as shown in Fig. 4. The garage doors are now fully closed and locked at both top and bottom.

Assuming that a car approaches the garage and that it is desired to open the doors thereof, the frontl wheel of the car will pass over the cover 33 of container 28, thereby depressing this cover somewhat and causing link 3l to actuate lever 29, thereby pulling upon cable 23 and causing this cable to depress bolt I2 by overcoming the force of spring I5. As bolt I2 is depressed, the pin II thereon serves to pull latch operating rod 8 downwardly, thereby causing this rod 8 to pull downwardly on chain 1 and unlocking bolt 6 at the top of the door. Simultaneously, the upper portion of bolt I2 moves downwardly so as to disengage the latch plate I6, thereby unlocking the bottom of the door.

With the door 2 thus unlocked, the weight 42 immediately acts by descending to effect the opening of the doors. This Willbe apparent from an inspection of Fig. 3 wherein it will be noted that as soon as the doors are unlocked, weight 42 by descending under the action of gravity, pulls downwardly upon cable 43 thereby causing this cable to move push rod 49 forwardly and opening the door 3. Since door 3 is connected by cable 53, however, to the inner or rear end of push rod 60, the opening of door 3 serves to automatically and simultaneously cause push rod 63 to push door 2 open so that the two doors open together. When the doors have reached their fully open positions, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the downward motion of the weight is stopped, the coil springs 64 serving to cushion the stopping movement of the weight and preventing undue pressure upon the doors or upon the slide bracket hangers 41 and 58. y

The car is now free to enter the garage, after which the operator may readily again close the doors by grasping handle 65 of door 2 and closing this door while simultaneously lifting weight 42 somewhat. Upon the complete closure of doors 2 and 3 the bolts 6 and l2 serve to automatically lock the doors. With the doors thus closed and locked, as shown in Fig. 3, the same may be opened from without by means of a proper key that is adapted to be inserted through a suitable key opening 66 (see Fig. 1) provided in the door 2. This key, by engaging in a suitable notch 61 provided in the latch operating rod 8, serves, when turned, to depress this rod, thereby unlocking the top and bottom of the door and enabling the weight 42 to again open the door.

It will be noted that the novel door openingV mechanism of this invention is of extremely simple and foolproof construction and serves to automatically lock the doors at the top and bottom upon the mere closure of one of the doors, the said mechanism being also operable to automatically open the doors upon the approach of a car or by use of a proper key. With the doors open, the weight 42 serves to hold the same open as long as desired.

It will be apparent that the mechanism for depressing or releasing the lock bolt l2 may be changed greatly while remaining within the spirit of this invention. Thus, instead of using the lever 29, this lever may be omitted and the cable 23 attached to the bottom of a rigid link fixed on cover 33, or even other means, such as fluid pressure may be employed for releasing bolt I2.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, as defined by the following claims, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrated and not ina limiting sence.

I claim: t

1. In mechanism for releasably locking a laterally swinging garage door structure, said door structure having means to automatically move the same to open condition when released, comprising, a spring projected bottom bolt mounted in the oor of the door opening, a spring projected top bolt carried by the door structure, a bottom bolt receiving socket means xed on the door structure, a vertically yieldable latch plate mounted in said socket means for cooperation with said bottom bolt, said bottom bolt and latch plate having cooperative beveled portions permitting the latter to yield to the former when the door structure is moved to closed position, a connecting rod means having connection with said top bolt, means for coupling said bottom bolt with said connecting rod means when the door structure is closed and locked so that retractive movement of said bottom bolt is transmitted to and causes retractive movement of said top bolt, and a depressible means for retracting said bottom bolt to door release position located inthe approach to the door opening and in outwardly spaced relation to said opening.

2. In mechanism of the kind described as defined in claim 1, wherein said means for coupling said bottom bolt with said connecting rod means when the door structure is closed and locked comprises, a coupling pin'laterally extending from the projected'end portion of said bottom bolt, and said connecting rod means having an opening to receive and embrace said coupling pin when the door structure is closed.

3. In mechanism for releasably locking a laterally swinging garage door structure, said door structure having means to automatically move the same to open condition when released, comprising, a spring projected bottom bolt mounted in the floor of the door opening, a spring projected top bolt carried by the door structure, a bottom bolt receiving socket means fixed on the door structure, a vertically yieldable latch plate mounted in said socket means for cooperation with said bottom bolt, said bottom bolt and latch plate having cooperative beveled portions Vpermitting the latter to yield to the former when the door structure is moved to closed position, a connecting rod means having connectionv with said top bolt, means for coupling said bottom bolt with said connecting rod means when the door structure is closed and locked so that retractive movement of said bottom bolt is transmitted to and causes retractive movement of said top bolt, a pivoted lever means mounted v 

